Some useful advice has been released today that might help you if you're still waiting for a Christmas gift to be delivered, or if a present is broken or otherwise unsuitable.

"There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the return of Christmas presents," says Jed Mayatt, manager of the UK European Consumer Centre. "Contrary to popular belief, consumers don't automatically have the right to return unwanted Christmas gifts to a shop and claim a refund unless the goods were faulty or damaged, although they may be able to take advantage of the shops' goodwill policy. If an item is faulty or damaged then consumers should always try to take it back as soon as they can. In each case, they should also always try to take with them the receipt or other proof or purchase such as a bank or credit card statement."

What if you ordered online and the presents didn't arrive?

"When consumers buy goods online they generally have more rights than when they buy them in a shop," says Sonia Payne, legal advisor for the Centre.

"This means that, in most circumstances, if an order is delivered too late, they can return it for a full refund within seven working days starting from the day after the goods were delivered. The same is true if the goods were not suitable for any reason, for example, if an article of clothing doesn't fit. There are some exceptions to this, for example personalised goods, CDs, DVDs or computer games which consumers have unwrapped.

"EU Distance Selling Legislation (the Consumer Protection - Distance Selling - Regulations 2000 in the UK) states that goods purchased online or via any other distance means such as mail order or telephone order must be delivered within 30 days unless a longer period of time is agreed between the consumer and trader. These rights apply to all distance purchases in the EU as well as Iceland and Norway, and if the goods didn't arrive within that time consumers should be offered a full refund. However, they should be aware that these rules do not apply if the goods are ordered from elsewhere in the world, for example from the USA or the Far East.

"Consumers should read the terms and conditions on any website carefully, as these will form part of the contract they agree to when placing their order, and these may well have stated that no delivery date could be guaranteed when approaching Christmas. They will still be able to return the goods when they do arrive, under the Distance Selling Regulations, but they are very unlikely to be able to make any claim against the company for late delivery unless this was a specific term of the contract agreed by both parties.

"When it has been expressly agreed that the goods must be delivered before or on a particular date, for example Christmas, if the goods arrive after the agreed date then the consumer may hold the trader liable for a breach of contract, unless the traders' terms and conditions contain disclaimers in case of extraordinary circumstances preventing delivery to the agreed schedule. This applies to goods bought online both cross-border in the EU or at home in the UK. It also applies throughout the rest of the year, as well as at Christmas-time."